As user user of autodesk products I think this is a bad day for the industry... good for the companies but for users?? Max and Maya are direct competitors so one must go or both will be merged into a killer app. That might be the best outcome but bad for competition as this will give Autodesk almost a monopoly.

Beastie

10 October 2005, 09:59 PM

I welcome our Autodesk overlords. Now max can lawfully copy right off maya, haha.

Edit: ah, looks like i was 30min behind Leo on this one. I didnt see the post.

Relic

10 October 2005, 10:26 PM

I would say it's good news for Max users and not as good news for Maya users. I'm happy cause I'm a Max user :D

oscar.alvarez

10 October 2005, 10:42 PM

Max or Maya to dissapear ? ... ok another joke please.

Maybe in a long term ... but I think both will pursue different markets ...

and it's not good news ... for nobody ... less competition ... more lazy developers ...

rejoyce 3d freaks ... XSI 5 is coming to show you the real world ... is air what you are breathing ? ^_^

Crackjoe

10 October 2005, 10:43 PM

3D studio maya

Relic

10 October 2005, 10:52 PM

I don't think it's bad news, there was to much competition right now, which led to a to saturated market and this is why this has happened. There is still Lightwave, there is still XSI, and both are competitive, not to mention Truespace, Rhino, etc which are more focused on certain types of projects.

I only think it might be bad for Maya users in the long run, but for the short-term, it should be good news with integration of features from both to each other maybe.

Just when I get used to "Discreet", "Kaydara" or "Alias Wavefront", I already have to get used to another name.

I'm curious as to why Autodesk would need Max AND Maya... That's like drinking a coke and pepsi at the same time.

As a Maya user, my only wish is that they don't dissolve Maya as it's own entity although this may be inevitable. I do agree that it's a saturated market but the rigging tools and easy mel scripting of Maya have always been the backbone of my choice in the product.

AutoDesk is shaping up to be the next "borg" entity.

-Rod

ArchangelTalon

10 October 2005, 11:20 PM

Then there's a good chance it'll end up like all other monopoly products. Inferior but popular.

I'll stick to modo :D

Athey

10 October 2005, 11:51 PM

BWAHAHAHAH - schwweeeetttt...

heh, Okay ok, I know that most maya users are cringing and I'm all giddy cuz I hate maya with a passion, but honestly, I doubt that much is gonna change right away. Plus they've stated that they intend to continue to produce all of Alias's software packages and all planned upcoming versions etc. is still gonna happen. As far as I've heard so far, there is no plan to combine the two packages into one, or drop one of them all together.

The studio I work for is currently using max, but we're switching to maya for our next gen project that'll start production next year (laaaammmeeee.....) and us max loyalists are all wishing that maya get's dropped so we don't have to suffer the switch, but like I said - I doubt anything's gonna change. Not right away.

If anything, they'll probably support the whole file compatablility thing better - which will be appriciated.

the_podman

10 October 2005, 01:34 AM

Athey, I'm interested in your post. I'm curious as to why your company would make the modelers switch over to Maya. Wouldn't that slow Max users down having to get used to a new interface? As far as "modeling" goes though, I don't see too much of a problem using different apps. For modeling, I've used a little Silo, Wings, Max, and Maya, and I pretty much think they are pretty similar(I guess I don't stray away from the basic tools too much).
.obj or .fbx have tremedous flexibility with integration between packages.

Most of the major differences between Max and Maya are in the rigging/animation department imho. That's where max and maya really start speaking different languages.
I mean, most of the major modeling packages have got your basic edge tools and such. No? The only thing I can think of that's really different is some modeling packages don't allow for illegal polys or 5 sided polys which would mess up people that use the "create poly" tool/extrude profile way of modeling.

-Rod

Athey

10 October 2005, 03:14 AM

They're making us switch cuz all of Sony's other studios use Maya and all of their tools and exporters are made for Maya. Ours is the only Sony studio still using max. Sony Corperate is giving us a bunch of pre-made tools and an engine for our next-gen project, and all of it's stuff is setup to work with Maya, so we're switching. *le sigh*

I actually learned Maya before I learned Max. When I started learning Max it was like a breath of fresh air ^__^ heh... I just fit with it so much better.
But I agree that as far as modeling goes, you can do the same stuff with either package. It's all a matter of personal preference and adjusting to different interfaces.

I just personally prefer max over maya ^__^

jellywerker

10 October 2005, 03:17 AM

I'll be truly scared when/if they buy softimage. I see prices skyrocketing! :eek: It will be very interesting to see what will come of it though. I'll wait till modo and silo merge, for one very customisable and featureful modelling app! Perhaps called "silodo" or "molo"

the_podman

10 October 2005, 03:32 AM

I see. Thanks, Athey.

I wonder if Pixologic is next on "the list".

AdamAtomic

10 October 2005, 05:06 AM

To me, this announcement is like "Ferrari buys Lamberghini!" - it just has no effect on me and my Corolla. I guess if I could actually afford a nicer car it would be a bigger deal :P

That said, I do have a certain fondness for Maya's materials and shader interface, and it is always sad to see good tools fall by the wayside (Mirai?!?). I hope that Autodesk keeps the consumers in mind when they begin to change their product lines (and they will - they have to), and use this opportunity to create better tools, not just better profits.

I think there is something to be said for the mere existence of a variety of tools ; they are bound to have different strengths over one another. I think that it can be dangerous to try and combine all the possible approaches into one solution; things can become extremely cluttered and dense very quickly. There is a reason that studios like Pixar do NOT use all-in-one solutions, and that talented carpenters have an entire toolbox, not just a Leatherman (though it is nice to have a Leatherman around in a pinch).

Golly that's a lot of metaphors.

It'd be nice to see some specialty tools come out of this deal as well. I've found a modeler and unwrapping/texturing solution that suits my needs and budget quite well, but I have had a much more difficult time finding an affordable animation solution, for example.

For all you people out there who can afford and do use these tools, I hope that it works out the better for you!

SHEPEIRO

10 October 2005, 09:07 AM

hope fully Max can teach Maya a few of its ease of use and UI skills, while Maya can teach Max to be A GOOD BOY AND NOT CRASH SO BL**DY OFTEN.

aaaargh i learnt Maya Ages ago, didnt have accsess to it for a couple of years, and wham bam i cant remember how to use it, all those buttons to remember, i like maxes modular approach, so i hope they cross pollenate

Wayne Adams

10 October 2005, 12:56 PM

Few more years and there will be one app for the entire development process. Now THAT I would very much like to have. But for now, if Max and Maya merge, I hope max dominates logic, and maya dominates rigging. Because then there were all these explosions, and I didn't SEE what happened...but later Aunt Slappy came and picked me up, and we ate a pear..AND THAT'S THE TRUTH!

the_podman

10 October 2005, 02:56 PM

It'd be nice to see some specialty tools come out of this deal as well. I've found a modeler and unwrapping/texturing solution that suits my needs and budget quite well, but I have had a much more difficult time finding an affordable animation solution, for example.

Messiah:Studio (http://www.projectmessiah.com/) is the most flexible and feature-rich animation solution I've come across that's pretty affordable($299). It will take your .objs and uvmaps from Wings3d. The only problem with Messiah is the lack of plugins for actual game export(I've emailed messiah tech dozens of times about this and they never respond). Otherwise, It's pretty much the ONLY animation solution I know of that would fit with your current budget-minded pipeline.

mrloco

10 October 2005, 03:17 PM

I hope this won't stall out the cg world, since now the two biggest softwares don't need to compete and keep up with eachother. Maybe a whole new package will come out of it, but i don't think so...

AdamAtomic

10 October 2005, 03:39 PM

Messiah:Studio (http://www.projectmessiah.com/) is the most flexible and feature-rich animation solution I've come across that's pretty affordable($299). It will take your .objs and uvmaps from Wings3d. The only problem with Messiah is the lack of plugins for actual game export(I've emailed messiah tech dozens of times about this and they never respond). Otherwise, It's pretty much the ONLY animation solution I know of that would fit with your current budget-minded pipeline.

Thanks for the info podman! I will check that out when I get a chance.

jbradford

10 October 2005, 06:20 PM

I don't think Maya is going to end at all. Autodesk did this to get to get a share of Alias's profits. Why stop production or alteration of a good product when you can simply further it to gain money. It's like when Adobe bought Corel, but you don't see Painter 8 or Photoshop merging together.

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